Robotic ball devices possess the potential to be utilized in a wide variety of scenarios, including in education, recreation, military/defense, industry, and others. Autonomous robotic ball devices may be especially useful in such settings, since autonomous robotic ball devices are capable of providing users with additional assistance, interaction, surveying capabilities, entertainment, and the like, all while enabling the user to perform other activities independently. This can improve a user's productivity and/or interactive capability. However, many such potential environments and usages are associated with high levels of stress and strain. Existing robotic ball devices do not possess sufficient durability to meet these demands, thereby limiting the usefulness of such devices in many potentially applicable environments and settings.
In addition, current designs and their associated weaknesses limit the types of additional features, equipment, and devices that can be utilized in conjunction with the robotic ball devices. For example, existing robotic ball devices do not include advanced or complex electronics that may be more fragile or delicate and would be easily damaged by normal operation of the robotic ball device. Robotic ball devices known in the art similarly exclude the use of components that could increase the interactive capability of such devices, as well as the variety of tasks capable of being performed by such devices. This limits the usefulness and versatility of known robotic ball devices in a wide variety of environments.
For instance, many known robotic ball devices are configured for autonomous control by utilizing interior drive system and/or control system for generating propulsion. In some instances, propulsion is generated by a motor coupled to an interior face of the exterior shell. The motor drives rotation of the shell by turning a rotor that is securely affixed to the interior face of the shell. In this manner, the robotic ball device is caused to roll. However, such robotic ball devices often fail over time, in part due to the presence of weak areas that are prone to breakage during operation. Some examples of such weak areas include connection points, e.g., between the rotor and the shell. Accordingly, these and prior art robotic ball devices are characterized by insufficient robustness and durability, thereby limiting the variety of environments in which they can be implemented and utilized.